Vaccines Specialist

How do vaccines work?

Vaccines work by “training” your body to respond to exposure to a serious infectious disease. They are a powerful tool in both personal and public health, and something that all parents should pursue for each child in their family. 

To understand vaccines, it helps to think about how the human immune system works. When you’re exposed to a disease-causing organism, or pathogen, your immune system kicks into gear to defend the body. 

Your immune system creates a specific antibody to fight off that particular virus, bacterium, or fungus. Those antibodies work hard to destroy their matching antigens, preventing widespread infection and keeping you healthy. 

Although this process works naturally without help, certain pathogens create illnesses that can overcome your system before you can create a strong enough immune response. That’s where vaccines come in. 

Vaccines are made from inactive or weakened parts of an antigen. They are strong enough to trigger your body’s natural immune response without creating an actual infection. Once your child’s immune system creates those specific antibodies, they remain in place for life, standing by to spring into action if your child ever encounters the full-strength version of that antigen. 

What are vaccines so important?

Vaccines are essential because they allow your child to build up a strong immune defense system before infection and serious illness can occur. Some of the vaccines recommended during childhood include:

• Hepatitis B
• Rotavirus
• Diphtheria
• Tetanus
• Pertussis
• Influenza
• Polio
• Measles
• Mumps
• Rubella
• Varicella
• Human papillomavirus

These are just some of the diseases and infections that vaccines can protect against. 

Vaccines are also important for public health. When most of a population is protected against contagious disease, that disease has fewer hosts in which to thrive. This is why America does not have high rates of many infectious diseases that remain prevalent in other areas of the globe. 

Are vaccines safe?

Never before has there been so much misinformation concerning the safety and efficacy of vaccines. Vaccines are nothing new and have an excellent safety record backed by decades of science. 

Dr. Etienne encourages parents who are concerned about vaccine safety or scheduling to discuss those matters during routine well-child exams. Vaccines are an essential part of your child’s lifelong health and wellness, and the team at Optimum Medical can answer any questions you have on the topic. 

Booking a vaccination review is as simple as a phone call or a few moments online, so don’t delay.